Cleveland County Sheriff's Deputies Reunite Lost Military Letters with Family Members

A traffic stop in Norman will hopefully lead to a military family getting reunited with some stolen family heirlooms.

It happened near Alameda and Carter in Norman where the vehicle was stolen. "The other day our deputies contacted some individuals in a stolen vehicle," Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason said.

But it was what deputies found inside that piqued their curiosity. "They recovered these items inside the vehicle," Amason said.

It was a piece of the past: handwritten postcards and stamps from decades ago. "Our deputies believed it was stolen property," Amason said.

When deputies took a closer look, faded handwriting told a story. "This comes from a serviceman back in 1951 who was living on Fort Sill, and he was writing these letters to his mother who lived in Laverne, Oklahoma," Amason explained.

The postcards were written by Perry Harmon and addressed to Mrs. Harmon. Each letter affectionately opens with 'Dear Mom'. "So obviously these are heirloom-type things that you can't put a value on," Amason said.

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office immediately set out to find the Harmon family. "We put this out on our social media and got some responses and now we've got four solid leads," he said. "It is important for us to be able to get these back to the rightful owner."

Amason says his mission is compassionate service, whether the need is big or small. "We are here to serve the public," he said. "It may not mean something to the ordinary individual but to this family, it means a whole lot."

The Sheriff says they appreciate all their community partners for helping spread the word, and while they're grateful for all the tips they've received so far, he says they don't need any more. He says he's confident they're already on track to reuniting the letters with the right family.